Tesla plans to build solar chargers along major US highways for its vehicle owners

Tesla Motors has some of the coolest electric vehicles on the market today including the Roadster and the new Model S. Despite how cool these electric vehicles are people may still have the same range anxiety with these cars as they would any other electric vehicle, such as the Nissan Leaf or others. Tesla has a plan to address this range anxiety, and the plan has nothing to do with bigger batteries.

Tesla has announced that it plans to build a network of solar-powered chargers along major US highways to expand the driving range of Tesla vehicles. The chargers would be offered to Tesla owners at no charge. The company has already installed the first six of the high-speed chargers along highways in California, Nevada, and Arizona.

The high-powered solar chargers are able to recharge a Model S sedan at a rate of 100 kW. The high power of the souped-up chargers allows the vehicle to travel for three additional hours of highway driving with 30 minutes of charging. Each of the Chargers cost Tesla $250,000.

The charger can charge 4 to 6 Tesla electric vehicles at one time. Tesla's overall plan is to install 100 of the new solar chargers over the next three to four years at a total cost of $20 million-$30 million. Tesla also plans to begin opening the so-called "superchargers" in Europe and Asia in the second half 2013.